Apparatus for contacting sheet materials such as hides with fluid



J 1954 s. LINDEROTH, JR.. ET AL 2,679,699

. APPARATUS FOR CONTACTING SHEET MATERIALS SUCH AS HIDES WITH FLUID Filed April 3, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 "nrwm Zamberti [fade/"ambit W////am M houg/zton Dav/d Edgar 6/1" H neg June 1, 1954 APPARAT Filed April 5, 1951 S. LINDEROTH, JR, ET AL US FOR CONTACTING SHEET MATERIALS SUCH AS HIDES WITH FLUID 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 in mars: Lamberf S Z/haemf/z, Jr."

W/W/am M /70ught0/z Dav/a Edgar 1954 L. s. LINDEROTH, JR., ETAL 2,679,699

APPARATUS FOR CONTACTING SHEET MATERIALS V SUCH AS HIDES WITH FLUID June 1 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 5, 1951 O J M44 i MM Wu,

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 June1,1954 s. LINDEROTH,JR.. ETAL APPARATUS FOR CONTACTING SHEET MATERIALS SUCH AS HIDES WITH FLUID Filed April 3,1951

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I APPARATUS FOR CONTACTING SHEET MATERIALS SUCH AS HIDES WITH FLUID Filed April 5. 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Zamber/ S. Lzhderof/zJ: 144mm M Houy/zfon Patented June I, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR CONTACTING SHEET TERIALS SUCH AS HIDES WITH FLUID Lambert S. Linderoth, J r., Ames, Iowa, and Wiliiam M. Houghton, Marblehea'd', and David- Ed-gar, Lynn, Mass, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J, a corporation of New Jersey Application April 3, 1951, Serial No. 219,055

2 Claims. 1

This. invention relates to an apparatus. for treating sheet. materials, such as hides" by contacting them. with fluid, and. more particularly to a method of and apparatus for drying hides in which improved conditions oi temperature humidity and other factors may be: maintained.

In. drying sheet materials such as hides or skins, ducts or tunnels are customarily employed in which air currents are set up to: remove moi ture from the Work. Herctoioreg, the presence oi the. work itself, whether in the form of large. or small pieces, has interfered with the proper circulati-on. of the fluid and difiiculty as. well as much expense has been encountered in attempts to secure proper conditions such as of humidity-, temperature, regulated variability and/or uniformity. Prior to the present. invention, the mode: of transporting work of the type herein. considered into, out from, or through the: duct or tunnel employed often necessitated the manipulation of heavy doors and/or the shifting of the work with consequent restriction or substantial. interference with the fluid flow. The nature of prior attempts therefore has been such that continuity oi operation has not been possible and militated against the maintenance of optimum conditions and prevented treatment of as: largea quantity of work. as. wouldv be desired.

It has now been found that the above-mentioned difficulties: may be overcome by maintaining the individual pieces of sheet. material or hides in planes parallel to the path of the: fluid as the work and fluid are moved in contactual relation and preferably but not. necessarily in opposite directions. within. a duct or tun-net, the mode of transporting the: work permitting the use. of fluid modifying. units in those zones oi the duct as found advantageous to securev optimum conditions for any given specific treatment.

In accordance with one of its 0115160135,.17118 invention provides a novel work treating method in which pieces of sheet material, such as. hides, are maintained in extended condition and transported in contact with flowing work treatment fluid insuch a way as to permit a large quantity of work to be treatedv in. a restricted zone and yet afi'orcl ample. opportunity for the insertion or use of fluid modifying units.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus in which a large number of individual work pieces, such ashides, may be treated by contact with fluid, the. construction of the apparatus being such that. fluid modifying units may be installed wherever found necessary to maintain optimum conditions of treatment.

In the practice of. the method as herein; illustrated, air is moved; in. one: direction in a given path. and sheets of material, such as hides, are consecutively transported in alternate transverse and longitudinal. movements with respect to the path of airand. maintained. in planes parallel to that. path as the treatment proceeds.

The inventionfurther provides an apparatus for use in the practice oi the above-described method,,. this apparatus comprising a. duct for the passage of work: treating fluid. in combination with means for transporting hides in extended condition along the duct and in alternately reversed directions. transverse: to the duct. while maintaining each work piece parallel to the path of the fluid.

The invention may be more fully understood from the following description taken. together with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a diagrammatic. and perspective view, drawn to a. small scale, 0).? an apparatus in which the present invention is. embodied;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, in diagrammatic. iorm, illustrating the. mode oi treatment of. large quantitles of work in the apparatus shown in Fig. l, but. drawn toa slightly larger scale Fig. 3 is a sectional View drawn to alargyer scale and takenalong the line LIL-III of, Fig. 2;

Fig. -is a perspective. view of aportion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2 but drawn. to a larger scale and showing details of constructionv for sup porting, transporting, or moving the individual work pieces in four groups within the duct;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic and. detail view drawn to a larger scale of a portion oi the driving. mechanism, the. outlines only oi. some of the mechanism being shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a sectional. view taken along theline VI-VI of Fig. 5:;

Fig. 7 is a sectional. view drawn to. the same scale as: 3 taken across the. entire width of the bays at the. extreme. left or the apparatus. as shown in Fig. 2 andlooking toward the right with relation. to. the latter. figure Fig. 8. is a. plan view of. the structure. shown in Fig. 7;. and

Fig. 9' is. a view drawn to a larger scale. of some of the. details shown in Fig. Z.

The present invention. maybe. used the treatment of various forms of material which are in individual sheets and the invention is particularly adapted for the tannery field inwhich hides must be dried. It is understood. that. the term hides as used herein is intended to refer to either hides or skins.

The particular embodiment of the invention as disclosed pertains to the use of air as a fluid but obviously other fluids such as liquids could be used and the apparatus may take the form of a vertical structure to suit given conditions without departing from the concepts of the present invention.

Fig. 1 shows a duct 10 having a U-shaped tunnel-like structure both ends of which communicate to a limited extent with a large bay l2. The major portion of one end l3 of the U-shaped structure does not communicate with the bay 12 but passes downwardly through the floor of the bay and is in communication with the outlet of a fan I4. The major portion of the other end of the U-shaped duct Ill similarly passes downwardly at 16 and is adapted to communicate with an exhaust system (not shown). The bay 12 has an end section 18 (Fig. 2) herein termed a loading section and an end section 20 termed an unloading section.

Spaced along the top or interior of the passage formed by the duct 10 and traversing the same are T bars 22. These are shown merely as lines in Fig. l as, diagrammatically, these T bars may be said to support and define groups of hides as the hides are subjected to treatment in the duct. The air from the fan 14 is permitted to pass through the U-shaped duct iii in a path shown by the dotted lines or arrows in Fig. 1 without any substantial interference with its flow as the arrangement is such that all hides to be treated in the duct are supported in planes parallel to the fluid flow as will be further explained. It is also to be noted that in any given installation fluid modifying devices such as heating units 24 or 26 (Fi 1) may be installed in divers places such as below any T bar 22 or in the end zone 21 (where no work is suspended) and as found expedient in maintaining proper work treating conditions within localized zones of the tunnel to obtain optimum results. Parallel with the end or fluid zone 21 is an end work zone 29 for transporting consecutive hides from one leg to the other of the duct [0. The T bars 22 are conveniently supported on columns such as columns 36 and 32 (Fig. 4). The end and interior wall 34 of the duct I (partially defining the end or fluid zone 21) is provided with a horizontal angle bar 36 (Fig. 4) which cooperates with two of the T bars 22 to support one group of work pieces in the work zone 29. The end zone 21 is for fluid only. One wall of the large bay I2 is provided with two angle bars 38 and 46 (Fig. 2) for support of the first and last group of hides present in the legs of the duct I0 as will further appear.

The method and additional structural details of the invention may more easily be understood by referring in a broad way to the schematic plan of operation and the relative directions in which the work and fluid move. A work piece such as a hide 42 (Fig. 1) is fastened by means of a hook 44 (Fig. 4) or a conventional toggle (not shown) in extended or spread-out condition upon a vertical drying frame 46 in the loading section l8 of the bay l2. This work piece 42 and its supporting frame 46 (and all the consecutively handled frames and work pieces) are caused to follow the path designated by the solid arrows shown in Fig. 1. This path is zig-zag and leads through the end zone 29 whereas the fluid flow path is parallel with the work at all times while in contact therewith and passes through the end zone 21. When a given work piece 42 has trav- 4 ersed the length (both legs) of the duct 10 it has been dried and is delivered back to the unloading bay l2 (section 20) for removal from its frame 46.

The duct I0 is made up of steel plates the majority of which form the top 48, four. parallel and box-like track members 56 and 52 (Fig. 2) as well as two outside walls 54 and two inside walls 56. The top plate 48 has upturned flanges 58 and 60 which are fastened to the track members 50 and 52, respectively. It will be understood that the duct or conduit ID is provided with a flooring which is not shown. The roof or top plate 48 is supported on I beams 62 and 64 (Fig. 3) running the length of each leg of the U-shaped duct and resting upon the T bars 22. The large bay i2 is not provided with a roof.

It will be noted in Fig. 1 that the flow of work treating fluid represented by the dotted arrows is counter to the general direction in which the work pieces 42 and frames 46 are conveyed. It will also be appreciated that the T bars 22 do not extend the full width of the passage in the duct l0 but that a space 10 is left along each outside wall 54 to permit passage of consecutive work pieces from group to group and also out from and back into the large bay l2 as well as into and out from the end zone 29.

The two outside track members or box-like structures 50 with bottom flanges or tracks extend into the bay 12 along the outside walls 54 and the full length of each of the four track members 50 and 52 is slotted longitudinally and the flanges provide guideways or tracks for wheels 12. The wheels 12 are mounted in airs on stub shafts 14 each of which is integral with a block 16 and each of the latter serves as a support for a depending bolt 18 attached to the top flange of a box-like section 19 of a carriage 80. There are two opposed carriages in each leg of the duct H1. The sections 1 9 of each of four carriages 80 are joined by rods 82 and each of these four carriages 80 is provided with a section for each alternate group of work pieces being treated. Two additional carriages 80 are employed at the sides of the large bay l2 and each of these has only one section 19 adapted to reciprocate past the fluid inlet and exhaust ends [3 and 16 of the duct ID as will further appear.

Angle bars 84 and 85 (Figs. 1 and 8) are provided in sections I8 and 20 of the bay [2 upon which the frames 46 are adapted to be transported manually as well as by mechanical power.

Each frame 46 upon which a work piece 42 may be supported by toggling is provided with two straps 88 which are hooked over a bar 90 provided with a roller 92 at each end. These rollers 92 are adapted to travel on the angle bars 84, 85, 36, 38 and 49 and also the flanges of the T-bars 22. The angle bar 94 (Fig. 2) also serves as a track for the rollers 92 at one side of the end work zone 29.

The carriages 86 in the legs of the duct may consist of as many sections 19 as found essential in a given installation. This number may vary depending upon the nature or extent of the work to be performed. Each section 19 is pro vided with two holes 98 and two narrow shelf portions with depressions to receive the rollers 92.

Pulleys 102 are mounted in cooperative sets of four on pins 194 depending from the roof 48 of the duct or (in the case of the four pulleys I02 to the left of the bay 12 in Fig. 2) from superstructure not shown. Each of the two single section carriages 80 for the bay I2 is connected to one of two flexible driving bands I06 passing around pulleys I02. Each of the four multiple section carriages 80 is connected to a flexible driving band I98 also supported by pulleys I02 and two of these carriages for one leg of the duct I are connected to one band I08 and the other two for the other leg are connected to a second band I98. Conveniently, the ends of each band I09 or I08 may be connected to its carriage by a clamp I I0 on one of the sections I9 as illustrated in Fig. 4. Opposed carriages in each leg of the duct are connected to the same band I08 to move therewith and in opposite directions in that leg as guided by the track members 50 and 52.

Power for both lateral and longitudinal movement of the consecutive frames 46 through the duct I0 in the path of the solid arrows in Fig. 1 is provided by a geared driving mechanism indi cated generally as A in Figs. 2 and 5. This mechanism comprises a shaft II4 which is driven by suitable pulleys and belts II6 (Fig. from a source of power (not shown). This shaft H4 is journaled at H8 and I2?) in a casing I22 enclosing the mechanism A. The shaft H4 has a sprocket I24 (Fig. 5) and two gears I29 and I28 pinned to the shaft to, revolve with it. The sprocket I24 is arranged to drive a chain I30 which in turn drives a chain I32 by means of sprockets I32 and I36 on a supporting shaft I38, the latter being journaled on the casing I22. The chain I22 is utilized to drive a two-part cam I42 arranged for controlling a one-revolution clutch arrangement. The cam I is free to rotate on and relative to the constantly driven shaft I I4 and is retained in position by two collars MI and one portion of the cam I90 bears a cam surface I52 for contacting a roller I54 attached to an arm I48 which is rotatable on a fixed shaft I49. One end of the arm I terminates above a shaft I50 to which is keyed an annular member- I52. The shaft I50 is arranged to rotate in bearings I 5I and I53 formed as parts of the casing I22. The gear- I26 is arranged to engage and drive a larger gear I54 which is free to rotate on the shaft I50 with the rotation of the latter being dependent upon the operation of a one-revolution clutch of which member IE2 is a part. The gear I54 is provided with internal teeth I58. The annular member I52 is bored to receive a rotatable cylindrical member I having a flat portion an edge iSI adapted to engage the teeth I55 dependent upon rotation of the member I69. The member I59 is provided with a finger I62 integral therewith and protruding from a recess in the hub of the annular member I52 and adapted to engage the end of the arm I45. A spring I99 is mounted on the member I52 to bear against the pin or finger I62 with a tendency to bias the member I69 into such position by engagement of the finger with the end of the arm I45 that the member I52 and the shaft I50 will not be driven by the constantly driven gear I54.

An arm I95 (Fig. 5) is also mounted on the shaft I48 and is similar in construction to the arm I49 but with a roller I10 in position to engage a cam surface I12 on the member I40. The gear I23. is. arranged continuously to drive a larger gear lid on and with respect to a supporting shaft III) which is mounted in journals IT! and I19 in the casing I22. The gear II I. is arranged to drive the shaft I16 intermittently through internal teeth II-I dependent upon the 6 operation of a second one-revolution clutch in the same manner as in the case of the shaft I50.

The shaft I50 is provided with a sprocket I which drives a chain I82 and a crank member I94 (Fig. 2) to reciprocate a rod member I99. This constitutes a means for driving or transporting the consecutive frames transversely or laterally of the passage for the fluid through the duct or tunnel as well as in the sections I2 and 20 and the zone 29 as will further appear. The rod I89 (Fig. 2) is pivoted to one arm of a lever mechanism I88 which in turn serves to oscillate the ends of rocking levers I90, ISI, I92 and I93, as shown in Fig. 2. These rocking levers operate together in proper timed relation to a longitudia nal movement of the consecutive frames through the tunnel or duct as will further appear. An arm of each rocking lever I90, I9I or I92 is provided with a.slot (Fig. 4) for receiving a pin I94 attached to the end of a push rod I96. Each push rod I95 is arranged to slide or reciprocate endwise in a boss I 98 attached to the wall struc' ture of each leg of the duct and is adapted at the proper moment to enter one of the holes 98 in a corresponding carriage I90. It will be noted that there are two rods I96 for each section I9 of a given carriage and that the sets of two rods are in staggered relation along the fluid path. Each rod I95 is in alinement with a row of rollers 92 as they rest upon the flanges of the T bars 22 and the narrow portions N39. The rocking levers are connected to the lever mechanism I88 by rods I95, I97, I99 and 200. The rocking lever I9I is provided with three arms whereas lever I93 has two arms.

The shaft H6 (Fig. 5) is arranged to drive five shafts 20! (Figs. 2 and 5) from a sprocket 202 by means of a series of chains 20%, 298, 252, 2"), 2I2 and 2 I4 with suitable cooperating sprockets. Fig. 2 shows a portion of this driving mechanism in a diagrammatic manner. It will be appreciated that the mechanism will be varied to suit the number, arrangement, rate and length of travel of the carriages as required for a given installation.

The chains 29% and 210 (Fig. 5) are arranged to drive the links H8 and 2H; back and forth in horizontal relation to the duct. The other ends of the links H6 and 2I3 are each pivoted to a section "I9 of a carriage 89 and the arrangement is such that the opposed carriages. in each leg of the duct I9 may simultaneously be driven in opposite directions by virtue of one of the two flexible bands I02. Only one link ZIt or 2I8 is required for each set of opposed carriages 80 in each leg of the duct.

The shafts 2I0 are arranged to drive the endless chain 214. (Fig. 2) through sprockets 222, 22-4 and 225. A slide member or bar 230 is rigidly mounted with relation to the superstructure of the duct and a crosshead 232 is mounted to slide thereon in a horizontal direction. This slide member is pivotallyconnected by a link 234 to the chain 2M so that rotation of the chain causes the orosshead 232 to reciprocate on the bar2-30. The two flexible bands I06 are clamped at 224 to the crosshead 23-2 to move therewith and each band I0$ is attached to a one-section carriage 80 which is adapted to reciprocate to and from the bay I2 and into and away from the first or last group of drying frames in the duct legs. as will further appear.

A protective covering 204 is used for each of the links El e-and 21s as it may be necessary as a protection for an operator who may desire. to

enter the space between the duct legs for lubricating or otherwise servicing the mechanism.

Fig. 3 shows a full group of frames extending in spaced and parallel relation across one leg of the duct. In that figure the left-hand, one-section carriage 80 has been unloaded by the proper push rods I96 acting against the wheels 92 of the first frame. The preceding frames of that group are simultaneously pushed to the right and one section of the right-hand carriage 80 is loaded with one frame the wheels 92 of which roll into the recesses of the narrow shelf portions I made to receive them. The right-hand carriage 80 of Fig. 3 then moves counter to the path of the air into the position shown in Fig. 2 where it is to be unloaded by action of two push rods I96 connected to two rocking levers I92 (only one of these two being shown in Fig. 2). While the last-mentioned action occurs the left-hand carriage (Fig. 3) travels back into section I8 of the bay I2 to receive a newly loaded frame from those stored there.

To assist the operators in providing loaded frames at a determined rate but with some leeway for variations, the bay I2 is provided with a mechanism for receiving empty frames as consecutively discharged from the conveyor system into section of that bay, pushing them into a group within convenient reach of the operators and urging them individually, after loading, and in proper timed sequence to the left-hand carriage 90 of Fig. 3. This mechanism is illustrated in Figs. '7, 8 and 9.

In Fig. 8, one wall 54 of the duct is shown provided with a bracket 250 (not shown in Fig. '7) for supporting one of the rocking levers I92 pivotally attached to the rod 200 to actuate a push rod I99. A second rocking lever I92 (for the bay I2) is also pivoted to the rod 200 to actuate a second push rod I96. These two push rods I96 cooperate in unloading treated work from the corresponding carriage 80 giving the operator or operators time to detach the work from each consecutive frame as it rests upon the angle bars 84 and 85. The second lever I92 referred to is pinned to a vertical shaft 252 supported on a bracket 254 attached to the duct. Also pinned to the shaft 254 is an arm 256 having a slot-andpin connection to a bar 258. The pin of the connection is fixed to the bar 258 which is adapted to reciprocate in directions transverse to the duct. Each end of the bar 258 is provided with wheels 260 having flanges extending into and being guided by elongated openings 262 and 264 in a plate 266 fixed to a track member 50. Be-

neath the plate 269 and attached to the bar 258 is a longer bar 210 (Fig. 2) extending across the major width of the bay I2 and the left end (Fig. 8) is attached to a block 212 carrying flanged wheels 214 guided by an opening 216 in a plate 218 fixed to a track member 50. The upper ends of four parallel links 280 are pivoted on pins 284 and 286 passing through the bar 210. The lower ends of the links 280 are pivoted to a pair of pusher plates (not shown) but each of which is similar in function and construction to a pusher plate 288 (also one of a pair) partially shown in Fig. 9. The pusher plate 288 is provided with five downwardly extending projections and each projection has a vertical or pusher side 290 and an inclined side 292.

In Figs. 7 and 8, the wall 54 is also shown as being provided with a bracket 296 for supporting a vertical pin or shaft 298. Pinned to the lower end of the shaft 298 is a lever 390 which is pivotally connected to the rod 200. Pinned to the upper end of the rod 298 is a lever 302 the end of which is connected by a bolt 304 to a bar 306 which is similar to the bar 258. The bar 306 is provided with four flanged wheels 308 which are guided by a slotted plate 3I0 similar to the plate 266. A bar 3I2 (similar to bar 210) is located with one end bolted at 3I4 to the bar 306 to be carried thereby. The other end of the bar 3I2 is supported on rollers or wheels 3|6 resting on a plate 3I8. The bar 3I2 carries four pivoted links 320 (like links 280) which are connected to a pair of pusher plates 288 previously referred to. The vertical pusher sides of each of the four pusher plates are spaced a distansce at least equal to the diameter of the rollers 92.

Each of the angle bars 84 and 85 have inclined slots such as slots 32I (Fig. 9) to accommodate springs or stop members 322, the ends of which may yield as the rollers 92 pass to the left as viewed in Fig. 9 but which bear against the rollers to prevent their displacement toward the right.

In using the apparatus herein disclosed, assuming the driving mechanism A is being driven by the belts II6 (Fig. 5), the operators in bay I2 manually roll an empty frame 46 from the unloading section 20 of the bay to the loading section I8 and mount a work piece 42 upon that frame in a conventional manner as by the use of toggles or hook 44. The operators may store (preliminary to treatment) a large number of loaded frames 46 in section I8 if they so desire, and section 20 may contain several empty or unloaded frames as well as frames from which the dried hides are to be removed. As the opposed carriages move in alternately reversed directions longitudinally in each leg of the duct I0 the consecutively loaded frames are moved from the work loading section I8 of the bay I2 and caused to follow the path indicated by the solid arrows in Fig. 1. The motion of each loaded frame 46 along the enclosure or duct is effected by operation of the clutch driving the gear 202 (Fig. 5) which causes the carriages 80 simultaneously and intermittently in proper timed sequence to move the appropriate distances and directions for advancing the frames from group to group. The operation of the twoone-revolution clutches is such that when the longitudinal stroke (forward or backward) for a given carriage 80 is completed, the push rods I96 are actuated and become effective to unload or load that carriage into or from alternate groups as those groups are arranged on the angle bars 22 or tracks for supporting the wheels 92. Each of the rods I96 completes one forward and one backward thrust in a given actuation through the clutch member I52 with the result that the frames of each group are moved laterally of or transverse to the duct to permit introduction into that group of a new frame from a preceding group while one frame is moved longitudinally therefrom. The carriages 80 then perform a longitudinal stroke to be in positions in which the empty sections "I9 may be filled and the opposed sections 19 may be emptied as a preliminary to the next longitudinal stroke.

It will be understood that when two opposed carriage sections 79 are stationary and in the same grouping of frames, one of those sections will be unloaded or emptied and the other will be loaded or filled due to the operation of the appropriate push rods I96. All the push rods I96 are simultaneously operated and their momentary impact with the rollers 92 which come into their paths causes the frames to advance in a direction transverse to the duct or the air path and the frames in adjacent groups to be moved in opposite directions. The rods [96 are so operated that they are withdrawn from the carriage 80 to permit the latter subsequently to move longitudinally of the duct. The timing of the operation of the push rods I96 so that it is intermittent with the movement of the carriages 80 is accomplished by the two cam surfaces I42 and I72.

When the consecutively presented and loaded frames have been transported in the direction shown by the solid arrows in Fig. 1 they are returned to the bay I2 but into the unloading section 20 thereof and the dry hides are removed from the frames as they come to the fore and as convenient in that section. The apparatus disclosed in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 is for the purpose of advancing the frames discharged into section 20 to the left (Fig. 7) by power as an aid to the operators. This shifting of the work in the bay [2 may be by hand but it is conveniently and more easily performed by operation of the appropriate push rods I96 and the plates 288.

The loaded frames 46 in the loading section l8 are intermittently urged to the left (Fig. 7) by the plates 288 the vertical surfaces 290 (Fig. 9) of which are adapted to contact the rods 90. When the horizontal rods 210 and M2 reciprocate, the plates 288 intermittently ride or slide over the rods 90 present in section I8 because of the inclined surfaces 292 and the pivoting of the links 280 and 320. A stop device 330 (Fig. 7), attached to the bar 3I2, may be employed to prevent the links 320 and the plates 288 from dropping too low in the absence of any or sufiicient supporting rods 90 in the section [8 and the bar 210 is similarly provided with a stop member (not shown). Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for subjecting hides to fluid comprising a duct with a bay having a loading secporting hides in extended condition and in spaced and parallel relation in said duct, and means for transporting said supporting means from the loading section along the duct and to the unloading section and in alternately reversed directions across the duct, said transporting means including guiding means for maintaining the hides in planes parallel to the fluid flow.

2. Apparatus for subjecting hides to fluid contact comprising a loading and unloading section with a U-shaped duct connecting the two sections, means for forcing a gaseous fluid along and within said duct, means for transporting hides from the loading section and through said duct counter to the fluid, said transporting means including means for holding the hides in extended condition and in planes parallel to the direction of the fluid flow, and said transporting means also including power operated means for shifting the hides in alternately reversed directions across said duct.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Niunber Name Date 610,781 Whiteley Sept. 13, 1898 633,819 Dobson Sept. 26, 1899 1,514,935 Schmidt Nov. 11, 1924 1,692,716 Alter et a1 Nov. 20, 1928 1,740,680 Burnham et a1 Dec. 24, 1929 1,770,102 Edmunds July 8, 1930 1,771,906 Villemey July 29, 1,930 1,881,063 Randolph Oct. 4, 1932 2,152,312 Jennings et a1 Mar. 28, 1939 2,168,478 Hyde et a1 Aug. 8, 1939 2,347,109 I-Iurxthal Apr. 18, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 275,650 Great Britain May 24, 1928 

